The new Sky Box. Photo / File
I’ve spent a month with Sky’s new Sky Box - running it side-by-side with the pay-TV company’s current decoder, via a splitter.
If yours is one of the increasingly rare households that lacks a smart TV (or a gadget like a Google Chromecast or Apple TV that gives your old telly new-fangled smarts) then you’ll find the addition of 4K ultra-high-definition and support for apps like Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and TikTok something of a wonderland. That is, once you’ve wrapped your head around the new interface, which is very learnable but quite different, and overly busy in parts. You’ll be a dream customer, accessing all your broadcast or streaming content within the Sky moat.
But if you’re in a home that has bought a TV any time in the past five years, then 4K is old-hat. Netflix is already one click away. And you’ve probably already got voice commands (the new Sky Box - like smart TVs from most major television makers, and about half the world’s phones - runs on a variant of Google’s Android software and uses Google Assistant for voice).
And with sluggish channel changing, (see clips below), you’ll actually go backwards. On social media, some ex-Vodafone TV customers who have shifted to the cheaper SkyPod have complained about slow performance all round, compared to the Vodafone box it supersedes.
Sky says it will speed things up and tweak various features through software upgrades for Sky Boxes already in people’s homes. After more than six months of delays, you would have hoped they had already been through that process. But given that the new Sky Box is still a little under-baked, my advice is to sit on your old decoder for at least a couple of months.
But there’s more to the new Sky Box than apps and 4K.
If you’re a heavy-duty user of the current decoder’s recording capability, then the new Sky Box’s much larger hard drive and ability to record four channels at once will hold strong appeal.
But I suspect I’m not alone as a Sky customer these days in recording less and less and using on-demand streaming more and more for catch-up viewing. I have a Sky recording set for Married at First Sight (sue me), but I still usually watch it via Three Now, which lets you stream an episode before it screens on Three’s broadcast channel, and features next to no ads.
If Sky upgraded to offering its broadcast or streaming content in 4K at the same time as releasing the new Sky Box - and that Sky Box was the only vehicle for getting Sky channels in ultra-high-definition - then that would be a compelling reason to upgrade. But it’s not.
If I was told I had to go back to the old decoder, I’d just shrug and say “fine”.
I suspect many smart TV owners (or those who have added smart TV capability to their older telly via an Apple TV box or Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV stick), will think the same.
Before we get to more detailed pros and cons, a couple of the nuts and bolts.
Until March 31, Sky is concentrating on upgrading customers of the old Vodafone TV, which is being switched off (if it doesn’t get yet another stay of execution) at the end of this month. But after that, we’re going to see a broader push.
The new Sky Box costs $200 up-front and can be a DIY installation if you’ve already got a Sky dish. It’s very straightforward, with clear instructions in the box, but you can also book a technician.
The Sky Box gets its broadcast channels via your Sky dish, and Sky on-demand and app content via your broadband connection.
If you use the Sky Go app, there’s no change if you upgrade to a Sky Box. It’s still complimentary for subscribers, and you can watch content online in the same fashion as before.
There’s also the cheaper, smaller Sky Pod ($100 up-front) which has the same features but lacks a hard drive for recording (you stream shows on-demand for catch-up instead) and receives all of its channels via a broadband internet connection rather than a Sky dish. And, due to a spat between Sky and TVNZ, the Sky Pod lacks TVNZ’s channels in its TV Guide. That means you can hit the channel change button on your remote to access TVNZ1, TVNZ2 or Duke, though you can access livestreams of each of those channels if you open the TVNZ+ app and click your TVNZ profile to log on. The Sky Box does have TVNZ’s channels in its TV Guide.).
The lack of support for TVNZ’s broadcast channels is a real kneecapping by the state-owned broadcaster, and follows its move to withdraw its content from Freeview On Demand, effectively killing that collective platform. It’s a pity. Otherwise, Sky Pod would have been a great option for those who want to lose their Sky dish.
“We remain hopeful an agreement can be reached for TVNZ linear channels to be accessed via the Pod TV Guide. Right now they are accessible via TVNZ+,” a Sky spokeswoman said.
“We continue to optimise the new Sky Box and Pod performance and features, with a focus on response time. Updates are delivered via the internet.”
One reviewer complained about the Sky Box resetting itself a few times, and a colleague says he’s had his Sky Pod constantly reset itself.
I didn’t have any unexpected restarts, but my Sky Box did stop working in one instance. It was resolved in a few minutes by a call from a Sky technician, who sent me a text message with a link to an app that allowed him to see through my phone’s camera, making it easy for him to guide me through the process of some menu tweaks to reset the reception. (The software was very effective, even if it’s slightly creepy to have one of your phone’s features remotely controlled; I checked my bank balance later and it was no lower than normal.) Sky is undergoing a big restructure of its support operation.
Sky says there’ll be no forced upgrade. If you’re happy with your current Sky decoder, you can keep it for the foreseeable future.
But what’s the story for those who do want to jump in and try the new Sky Box?
Even if you’re non-technical, the instructions that come with the Sky Box are easy to follow for a do-it-yourself installation. You will need to know your Sky logon. If you don’t have it written down, or think you might have forgotten the password, you can check or reset it via the Sky website. To use all the new features, you’ll need to enter your Google password too - the one you use to log into Gmail or Google. If you don’t already have a Google password, you can create one at Google.com/account.
Unboxing: The new Sky TV Box (1/2). Have been using it for a couple-three weeks, connected via a splitter so I can run it side-by-side with the old decoder for comparison purposes. Hit me with any questions you'd like to see answered in my write-up pic.twitter.com/HffuiMeQxi
— Chris Keall (@ChrisKeall) March 26, 2023
You can install any app that’s available through Google’s Play Store, including the likes of TikTok, Spotify, Apple TV+ and even Spark Sport - for what little remains of its life. A half-dozen of the most popular apps are automatically added and updated during Sky Box box installation - the likes of Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, TVNZ+ and ThreeNow. And by dint of logging into Google, I was automatically logged in to most of them, which was a nice touch.
The box includes an HDMI cable to connect the Sky Box to your TV, plus an Ethernet cable to connect it to your internet router. You can also connect to your router by wi-fi, an appreciated touch in an age when many hardware makers take a bring-your-own-cable approach.
All up - if you’re sorted with your logon info - it takes less than 10 minutes.
There’s also the ability to set up more than one account if different household members enter their Google account details.
The Sky Box is little larger than a video cassette (kids, Google it) and loses the annoying swirly blue light on the old decoder. Its front face features just one pinhole status light and an on/off button. Top marks for minimalism.
The sticker on the underside of the box says: “Made in Indonesia. Designed by KAONMEDIA”. South Korea’s Kaon Media - a big player in Android TV and wi-fi hardware - displaces Sky’s longtime hardware supplier Pace. French firm Wyland did the systems integration and broadcasting software stack, Dutch firm Irdeto was responsible for the intellectual property and cybersecurity protections, and US outfit Universal Electronics *UEI) made the remote.
Similarly, the remote has been slimmed down and modernised. It’s notable that the single dedicated streaming service button is for Netflix. That seems a little old-school now that the streaming giant is now jostling with Disney+, Amazon’s Prime Video and free-to-air-broadcasters’ increasingly well-stocked apps. And you might think Sky would give that prime real estate to its own Neon … or maybe it wasn’t so keen to draw viewers’ attention to its cheaper streaming option.
That button with the blue, red and yellow dots at the top is the mic button, which you press to issue a voice command. That’s a sensible position. My Apple TV remote has the Siri button on its side, which I’m forever pressing by mistake.
Like most gadgets that run on Google’s Android software, quite a few functions can be performed by voice command.
You slip into voice command mode by pressing the mic button on the remote. Like Apple’s Siri, Google’s voice assistant has been around for years and it’s pretty capable. It’s not faster, say, changing the volume, but it’s quite handy for some tasks. For example, you can say “Open Netflix” or “Open Netflix and play Drive to Survive”. Nifty. (Though note in the clip below that it takes several beats to get back to the Home screen after I issue a follow-up voice command - an illustration of the Sky Box’s general lack of snap.)
But I found I couldn’t use voice commands to open all apps. “TVNZ+” was never recognised, and when I tried to search for a show (something that Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV et al handle with no problem), I was met with “Sorry, I don’t understand”. When I said “Record Yellowjackets”, my Sky Box didn’t set a recording for the new season of the show. Rather, it threw a link onscreen to a Wikipedia entry about a jazz band of that name. It tells me they reached number 16 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart in 1981. Uh, okay.
By dint of a splitter, I’ve been able to run the new Sky Box side-by-side with the Sky decoder I’ve been using for years.
Disappointingly, the Sky Box is a bit of slowcoach at changing channels - both next to the likes of Apple TV, and compared with its predecessor.
I timed how long it took to click through the first nine Sky channels (see video clips below).
On my old decoder it took 29 seconds, which is no great shakes.
On the new Sky Box, it took 57 seconds, or nearly twice as long. Each time you change the channel, there’s a couple of beats of blank screen, then the next channel appears but frozen for a beat before normal transmission.
Again, Sky says performance will be improved over time by software upgrades.
At least all the channels are present. I got several messages from Sky Pod owners who were annoyed about the absence of TVNZ1, TVNZ2 and Duke, all of which were present on the Vodafone TV box the Pod replaces.
At 1 terabyte (1000 gigabytes), the Sky Box’s hard drive will let you record four times as many shows as the current decoder (at least, until Sky gets around to offering content in 4K, which will chew up four times the space). And - if you stump up $15 per month to unlock the feature - you can record four channels at once rather than the old decoder’s two.
The new remote and the new interface have some familiar features. Hit the Planner or TV Guide buttons, and you’ll see screens for setting or watching your recordings, or seeing what’s on. They look a bit slicker, but it’s the same basic setup.
In the style of a smart TV, recently-watched TV channels rub shoulders with apps on the Home screen, and a number of the other many screens through which you can access content. You can choose which apps appear at the top.
The interface is a bit overly busy at times. Boxes with multiple choices of functions pop up and have to be swatted away when you just want to get to a show. It seems a bit like overkill to have Home, MyHub and App screens, which look as though they could be consolidated into one.
It’s all quite graspable, but if you’re not familiar with a smart TV, brace yourself that it’ll take a bit of getting used to.
Sky’s old decoder can fast forward or rewind at up to 30x. The new Sky Box can zip ahead or back in increments up to 60x.
Sky’s chunky old remote for its decoder might look as though it belongs in Motat, but it fits nicely in your hand and is easy to control. With the new Sky Box remote, it’s a lot easier to press the fast-forward button one too many times and fly far further ahead in the action than you intended to.
Almost every TV sold over the past three years or so supports ultra-high-definition (UHD or “4K”), which offers up to four times the picture quality of standard high-definition offered by Sky’s current decoder. You’ll notice an improvement in quality if you’ve got a 50-inch TV or larger. I’d call it the next big thing, but TV makers are already starting to offer 8K models.
Despite the new Sky Box boasting 4K, Sky has no immediate plans to offer any of its broadcast channels, or any Neon or Sky Sport Now content, in 4K. You can enjoy 4K content from Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ via your Sky Box.
Home theatre aficionados, or those who have recently bought a high-end TV, will note that you get Dolby support, but not for the latest standards in audio and visuals, Dolby Atmos or HDR10+. But for now, those are relatively niche drawbacks.
The new box runs on Android software - on what’s called a TV Operator tier - which means you can download any app from Google’s Play Store, the same way you can download any app for your Android phone, or iPhone if you’re on the Apple side of the fence. Not every app will work with the TV Operator tier version of Android used by the Sky Box (and most smart TVs) but it’s good to be able to install any app you like via an Apps screen - even Spark Sport, for what’s left of its life. The Spark Sport content shifts to TVNZ from June 30, whereafter Sky Box subscribers will be able to access it by installing the TVNZ+ app).
Make that almost any app you like. Sky’s own Sky Sport Now can be downloaded to the Sky Box, and you can log on - but then you’re met with a no-content message. The equivalent highlights and other content are still available under the Sky Box’s Browse section. Sky Sport Now has enjoyed a lot of success over the past year, but the broadcaster obviously has a limited appetite to showcase it to its satellite customers, who pay a lot more per month overall.
Five (or maybe even 10) years ago, the Sky Box would have been a “wow”. But in 2023 - more than three years since Spark forced a big chunk of change-averse New Zealanders to get a Google Chromecast or Apple TV, or upgrade to a smart TV to watch the Rugby World Cup - it feels less revolutionary than playing catch-up.
If you’ve got a smart TV (or Apple TV or Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick attached to your telly), and use it in concert with the Sky’s old decoder, there’s no compelling reason to rush out and buy the new Sky Box.
For the rest, don’t be in a hurry. Let others suffer the inevitable early teething issues.
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